Three Years Later
by hplove01
Summary: 3 years have passed since the Battle of Hogwarts, and people have moved on from the pain of the war. It starts with Harry visitng the Dursleys for the first time in 4 years, then develops a storyline [HG RHr]. R&R.
1. Visiting the Dursleys

**A/N: Ok this starts out as the Dursleys thing but it's really H/G and their life after. Enjoy and Review.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter (but Dumbledore _is _Gay. lol just a add-in)**

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Harry could not deny, he was doing well for himself. He was engaged to the love of his life, had the greatest friends a man could hope for, and he had become the Head of the Auror Department at such a young age. The life he lived now was such a breath of fresh air from what he went through before the death of Voldemort three years ago. Everything had gone back to normal and people had moved on as much as they could from the ones they lost in the battle. Harry had succeeded in all he ever hoped for, and now it was time to visit the place that made him think he could never be anything.

The Dursleys and Harry had not talked since they day the Dursleys had left. Harry had recieved news two years ago that they had retured to their home, but he did not have the heart to visit them until now. It was not like a family you had not seen in years, it was more like re-visiting hell. The only reason he was going was because he wanted to know how much his cousin had changed. Another prominent reason was that he felt sorry for Aunt Petunia in a strange way, knowing why she hated him so much made it seem a little less harsh.

He drove up the road that led him to his destination. He was wearing robes that resembled Muggle clothes the most. He knew that the Dursleys would not like it if he strode in wearing his regular robes, but he did not want to wear Muggle clothing because he wanted to prove to them he was a Wizard, and definately proud of it. He had bought a car for this occasion, knowing it would be odd for him to just apparate. He took his time buying a car, as it had been his dream before he knew there were such things as broomsticks or apparating. Harry would stare at cars on the street, wishing someday he could own one, and now that he had, it felt odd. He laughed, it's not like he was actually driving. He had charmed it to drive to where he wanted, but he had to keep his hands on the wheel so that it looked more normal.

He smiled as he saw that 4 Privet Drive had not changed a bit from the last time he saw it. The maincured lawn was still perfect and the flowers aligned with such perfection. He did not know whether to park in front of the house or the driveway. He finally decided he would park in front of the house, and slowly opened the door of his car and stepped out. He hoped they were home as he did not call or warn them of his arrival. He stepped slowly down the concrete, with every step his heartrate rose by a couple of beats. He finally reached the door. Before he knocked though, he looked down at his robes and adjusted them, then his hair. He quickly stopped and laughed at his own foolishness. Like they cared if he looked more 'proper'. He was still one of _them_. Harry took a deep breath and knocked gently on the door, almost wishing there was no answer. His wish did not come true however, as Vernon Dursley opened his front door. He stared at Harry for a second, then spoke.

"Oh, it's you again. I thought you died. What do you want now?" Vernon definately had not changed, though he had lost weight, probably from the stress. Harry merely smiled.

"Don't flatter yourself Vernon, I'm not here to see you."

"Don't give me cheek boy or else-" Vernon's sentence was cut short.

"Or else what Vernon? The days have passed when you could frighten me with your empty threats."

Vernon's face went red. "Don't you dare insult me in my own house you-" He was interrupted by the sound of Petunia's voice ringing out.

"Vernon, how about bacon for breakfast?" She yelled.

"Not now Petunia, you won't guess who's showed up at our doorstep." Harry could hear the scrambling of pots and pans as Petunia Dursley made her way to the front door. She stopped for a moment when she saw Harry's face. It was obviouse she did not recognize him at first glance, and when she did, her eyes began filling with tears. Vernon looked surprised at the emotion.

"H-Harry. Is that really you?" She eyed him for a moment.

"Yes Aunt Petunia." He said awkwardly. Why did she feel such emotion towards him? Had she really changed? Petunia dropped the plate she was holding and ran to him, throwing her arms around him. It was a hard and bony hug, far from the soft ones of Mrs.Weasly, but it was the closest thing to a mother's hug and Harry appreciated it. She finally let go of him and whispered. "Is he really gone? Did you do it?" Harry nodded.

"Thank you." She said weakly.

"For what?" He asked.

"He killed my sister. Thank you. And Harry, I'm so sorry. For everything. I've been thinking alot since you left and I realized how awful I was. But I know I don't deserve your forgiveness."She spoke sincerely and he was surprised with every word that came out of her mouth.

"It's alright. I've gotten over it Aunt Petunia. It's all in the past."

"No Harry. I was a horrible person. I should have treated you like a son, like Dudley, but my jealousy of Lily took over me. I wanted to make you what my family made me. The black sheep. I don't know why I did it, but I'm _so_ sorry Harry." She was crying now. Harry looked over at the astonished face of Vernon. Realizing he was still at the doorway, she jestured him inside and he sat on a chair opposite to Vernon and Petunia. Dudley made his way downstairs and stopped when he saw Harry.

"Hi." He said meekly. Harry smiled.

"Hey Diddykins." Dudley came down and sat awkwardly beside his mother, and sat there in silence.

Petunia broke the silence. "So, what has happened with you since you..." Harry knew what she meant.

"Well I'm getting married in a year to Ginny." Petunia smiled. "I work as a Head of the Auror Department." He looked at thier confused faces. "It's the equivelant of...the police, I guess." Dudley looked at him admiringly.

"So this Ginny...what is she like?" Petunia asked.

"Well actually, you might be able to meet her. She's coming here before we go out to eat." Harry looked at Dudley. "So Dudders, what's new with you?" He asked looking him over. He, like Vernon had lost weight.

"I do sales for a paper company. I have an apartment, too." He looked down. "It's not much, but it does the job."

"That's great Dudley." Harry said sincerely. Dudley looked up and smiled.

Vernon finally spoke up. "Are you living in that house your criminal godfather gave you?"

Harry stiffened. "Yes, I'm living in _Sirius_' house now, with Ginny, Ron, Hermione and Teddy." No one asked who Teddy was, and he was glad they didn't. After Andromeda died, Harry had welcomed the boy into his home as the Dursleys never had. He saw Teddy as his son. All that was left was blood, but that didnt't matter, especially to Harry.

Petunia looked at Vernon. "Vernon please be nice." She told him.

"_Nice_? Have you forgotten who we are talking about? This is Harry Potter. The son of the sister you hated." Petunia's eyes narrowed.

"Vernon, I never hated her."

"That's what you always told me Petunia."

"No, I was jealous and angry that she left me. I didn't want to lose a sister. It was anger Vernon, not hate. Never hate." They atmosphere of the room was very stiff and Harry was glad when he saw a beautiful redhead standing by his car.

"Er, I'll be right back." He said as he rushed out the door. Ginny was wearing a black dress and her hair was curled. He walked up to her and kissed her.

"You made it."

"Yeah, you told me you had a surprise for me." She said curiously.

"Well, yes. Right now, I'm 're-establishing' a relationship with the Dursleys." Ginny's eyes narrowed.

"You told me to dress up for _them_? After all this time you care what they think?" Harry brushed her cheek with the back of his hand.

"I told you to dress up for _after_. Honostly I could care less what they think of you." He kissed her again, then pulled away abruptly. "Ginny! Where's Teddy? You didn't leave him at Grimmauld place all-" Ginny put a finger to his lips. She laughed.

"Calm down _Molly_. He's fine. He's in the car." And sure enough as Harry peered through the window, he saw four year old Teddy pretending to drive. He walked over and opened the door and grabbed him, putting his hands over the little eyes. At first Teddy was surprised but then changed his hair colour to a Weasley red.

"Nope, it's not Ron." He said. At the sound of his voice, the little boy gasped and changed his hair colour to jet black. Harry uncovered his eyes. "Yep, it's me." Teddy hugged him.

"Uncle Hawy" He said as he grabbed his glasses.

Harry set him down on the ground. "I have someone you should meet." He said to both Ginny and Teddy.

**A/N: Good? Bad? Please review.**


	2. Words

**Thanks for all the reviews. They're great. And it has been pointed out that Teddy is three not four so from this chapter on he's three lol. And expect cliffhangers because I like them. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter [insert funny line here**

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"Who?" Teddy asked with curiosity.

"Well, you don't really know them but you will like them." Harry told his godson. Ginny raised an eyebrow. Harry looked at her. "They've changed." He said, more trying to convince himself than her.

"We'll see." She said plainly as they walked to the front door of the Dursley's home. This time, Harry's heart had slowed down and he was able to breath properly. He looked at Teddy only to see that he had changed his hair to a long white curls, similar to the wigs worn by old Muggle court judges.

"Now Teddy, please make you're hair somewhat normal. They'll be scared." Teddy nodded and made his hair into an adorable curly blond. To add to the image he gave himself rosy cheeks. "That's better." As they began walking again, Teddy's hair changed back to a jet black.

"It's his favorite." Ginny noted. Harry would not mention it then, but it was his favorite as well because it made Teddy look and feel more like his son. He had never wanted to replace Tonks and Remus, but he wanted to be the closest you could get to real parents. "He's not really into the vibrant ones like Tonks is he?"

"Nope, but he does do very strange things with his nose."

"Yeah, I've seen those" Ginny said slightly disgusted.

Harry laughed. "Er, should we go inside now?" He asked realizing they were conversing in front of the door.

"Good idea." Ginny replied, she kissed him on the cheek and intertwined her fingers with his. Ginny looked at him for approval before turning the knob. He nodded and they walked in to see the three scrambling to get away from the window that they were obviously spying through.

Petunia spoke first. "You have a baby?" She asked astonished as they walked back to their seats. To anyone else it would have looked like Harry's child, as Teddy had changed his eye colour to green, again, to match Harry's.

Harry laughed. "No. This is my godson, Teddy. Say hi Teddy." He held up Teddy's hand for him but instead of waving, Teddy dug his face into his shoulder. "It's Okay. This is my Aunt and this is my Uncle. That's Dudley, he's my cousin." He said, slowly lifting the child's face from his shoulder. Teddy looked at them. He changed his hair colour to a plain brown, which he did when he was shy. Harry reckoned at these times he did not want to draw attention to himself.

"How the hell did you...you ruddy-" Vernon began walking back.

Harry looked at him and opened his mouth to speak but Ginny beat him to it. "Don't talk to him like that."

"He's sensitive." Harry said. "He's a metamorphagus (sp?). It means he can change his appearance at will." Dudley looked rather calm.

"That's cool." He pointed out.

Harry chuckled. "Yeah, I guess it's cool when it's not creepy."

"So who's son is-was he?" Petunia asked.

"A best friend of my father's, and ours. The mother was also a close friend. They died during the war."

Vernon had obviously not scraped up any tact during the three years. "War? What war?" He asked.

Ginny rolled her eyes. It was obvious from the stories she heard of the Dursley's, she was not going to stand anything from them. "The one that will be in any history textbook. The war in which Harry at seventeen defeated the most powerful Dark Wizard anyone had ever heard of. That war." She ended casually "Teddy's grandmother took in the baby until last year when she died. Teddy's been living with Harry where he treats him like you never tried of treating Harry."

"Ginny, it's okay. It's in the past."Harry calmly said. Ginny took it to mean they would talk about it later. She nodded gently.

"Outside!" Teddy yelled. "Outside!"

"You want to go outside?" Harry asked him. Teddy nodded. "Okay then. I'll be right back." He said to the four others as walked out of the tense room where he hoped Ginny and the Dursleys would learn to get along somehow.

The warmth embraced him as the sun had begun to rise. Harry placed Teddy down onto the grass and watched him run around, touching the flowers and doing somersaults. They were only out for a matter of ten minutes before they heard the door open and saw the figure of Ginny, crying. She took off her engagement ring and put it down beside Harry.

"Ginny, what happened?" He asked her, but before he could even stand up, she had disapperated and he was just calling her name into the air. He picked up the ring and pocketed it. Harry felt rage brew in his veins and ran inside the house. Expecting the reason for Ginny's behavior as being Vernon's fault, he grabbed the large man by his collar and pointed his wand at his face.

"What did you say to her?"

"N-Nothing. I said nothing." Vernon looked petrified. Harry eyed all of them.

"Of course you didn't." He said sarcastically. "I thought you changed, but none of you have. You're the same as the day I was dropped on youre doorstep." He turned and walked out of the house. Petunia ran after him and grabbed his arm. He pulled away, but looked into her scared eyes.

"H-Harry." She said softly, still looking into his eyes.

"Don't." Harry said, not knowing what he was asking her not to do. He smirked. "Does it help I have her eyes?"

"No." She said simply. "I've seen those angry eyes many times, from you and from her."

"Good, because you never deserved a sister like her. I really thought you had come to your senses Petunia." She turned and walked back into the house and shut the door. He picked up Teddy and for the first time, wished the boy wasn't with him. He could not apparate with Teddy, so he would have to get home in the car, losing precious time. He walked to the car but before he could reach the handle, he heard a voice behind him.

"I can tell you." He recognized it as Dudley's.

"Tell me what Dudley?" He said impatiently.

"Why she's so...upset."

**A/N: Okay there it is. Review pleasee.**


	3. Letters from Noone

**A/N: Hey. sorry this took so long. Halloween and everything lol. Anyways please enjoy. And if you hadn't noticed yet, I'm putting an emphasis on Harry's wealth because first of all it's important to the story and second, I want to show it hasn't changed him. So anyways. Enjoy.**

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Dudley took a deep breath. "Well, it was all good at first, you know. Just talking about things like houses and family, then it got to careers and well you know how my mum is right? Anyways, she asked what she did for a living and Ginny said she was a journalist. And my Dad being so weirdly obsessed with money asked her if she made more or less than you." Harry knew where this was going and a part of him did not want Dudley to continue. But continue he did. "She laughed at first and said that not many careers pay more than a Head Auror, but you only do it cause you've wanted to since you were little. And well, my Mum said some stuff to her, and I tried to stop her but she said what she said" Dudley looked down. Harry walked to the door. Dudley grabbed on to his arm. "Don't. They'll never change. Go find her." Harry smiled at him, but it faded quickly.

"My car though. She knew the spell for the car. She was supposed to do the spell again when we met up so we could get to the Leaky Cauldron, but she ran off." Harry put his head in his hands and leaned on the top of the car.

"Is it a real car?" Dudley asked.

"Dudley, that's a stupid question. Of course-" Dudley cut him off.

"No I mean does it drive without the spell?"

"Well yes, but I'm not the greatest driver."

Dudley smiled widely. "But, I am. Do you mind if I drive you?"

Harry's face lit up with hope. "Why would I? Let's go." He said as he patted his cousin's back. Harry got into the passenger seat, and buckled the sleeping Teddy in the backseat. Dudley started the car and Harry would tell him where to go. Harry looked at his watch.

"Crap." Harry said.

"What?"

"It's been almost a half hour since she left. We have to hurry, my house is far away." Harry said as Dudley smiled.

"I'm good with fast." he said, Harry laughed. "I like your car"

"Oh, thanks. I actually don't really drive."

"I wouldn't have guessed." Dudley said.

Harry chuckled. "Yeah, I bought it for today. Honestly the biggest waste of money." He said bitterly.

"It's okay. They'll always be like that. You know, I never really hated you Harry, I just didn't want my parents treating me like they treated you. Peer pressure almost."

"It's alright, you're making up for it." Harry said kindly.

"No, I could never make up for it."

Harry heard a distant sound. "Dudley, is that what I think it is?" He asked, looking back.

"Sorry, I guess I was driving too fast. Should I pull over?"

"No, Dudley. Let's get into a high speed chase." He said sarcastically. When Dudley did not pull over he began to think Dudley did not get his sarcasm. "Dudley! Pull over!" Dudley pulled over and waited.

A small but muscular middle aged man came up to the driver's window. He was balding and looked quite good-natured.

"Do ya know how fast ye was drivin?"

"I'm sorry officer." Dudley said. But the police officer did not have an answer as he was staring at Harry. Almost instantaniously, Harry knew what was going on.

"Is that really you?" The officer asked. "Harry Potter?"

Harry used this moment as an advantage. "Yes." He said enthusically. He wanted to choke on his words for he was using his fame for personal gain. But desperate times call for desperate measures. "Are you a...?"

"Yeah, but me wife's a Muggle ye see. So I take up some jobs as a Muggle. It helps with the rent ya know." He said shrugging. "Ya know what? Me son's a huge fan of ya. Lotsa posters of ya on his wall an such. It'd be a great surprise for me to bring home yer autograph." He said almost bursting with excitement.

"Of course." The man took out a pen and a piece of blank paper.

"His name?"

"Louis."

He wrote small appreciation sentence followed by his signature. 

"Thank ya so much Harry. I'm Frank by the way."

"Nice to meet you. And this is my car, not my cousins, so I'll take the ticket." The man laughed.

"I couldn't." Frank said.

"I insist, Frank." Harry really did not enjoy 'special treatment'.

"I could not look meself in the face if I ticketed you. No no, m'boy. Yer the reason me family came outta hidin. Enjoy yer drive sirs." He said as he took the paper and walked back to his car. Dudley started laughing.

"Seriously?"

"Shut up. Just go. Go!" (A/N: I was going to say Shut up and drive but then I would have been singing Rhianna's song every time I re-read this.) Dudley stepped on the pedal and the car went forward. In no time, they reached 12 Grimmauld Place. "This is it."

"I don't see anything." Dudley said confused. They had put the charm back on after the battle, for privacy reasons.

"Oh right. Read this." He pointed his wand at a peice of paper and the adress showed up. He showed it to Dudley and told him to memorize it, then burnt the paper. Dudley let out a gasp as the house formed before his eyes. "I'll be right back Dudley." He walked out of the car and opened the door of his home. The decorations had changed since the times of the Blacks. Mrs.Black's portrait had been removed with much advanced magic and the help of 12 trained Aurors. The current decorations followed the Gryffindor colours, other than the white splashes here and there. It now looked elegant and welcoming rather than a feeling of death at every step.

"Hey Harry!" Hermione called from the stairs. Harry didn't approach her but just called back.

"Hey, have you seen Ginny?"

"Yes actually. She came around about an hour ago, grabbed some letters and left without saying anything."

"Letters? From who?"

"I would tell you if I knew Harry. Oh and she looked quite upset. Is everything okay?"

"No. Can you watch Teddy for a bit?"

"Of course." Harry went back to the car and got Teddy, handed him to Hermione and left.

"Dudley. Thanks for the help. Feel free to drop by anytime." He waved at his cousin before apparating to the Burrow. He was sure Ginny would be there. He knocked on the door and Mrs. Weasley opened.

"What a surprise! Hello Harry dear." She said as she hugged him.

"Have you seen Ginny?"

"Yeah, she came by and grabbed some-"

"Letters?"

"Yeah, how did you-"

"I'll tell you later Molly. Thanks." He apparated on the spot without even saying goodbye. Questions ran through his head.

_Why did she get so upset over what the Dursleys thought?_

_Why did she leave her engagement ring?_

_Who were these letters from?_

_and where the hell was she?_

**A/N: Review!!!**


	4. Found

**A/N: I know this one's really short but it's more of a filler chapter. And the part with Cho is not just random, as it is a part of the storyline later on. I will try to update soon. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

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Ginny sat with her head bowed as she took another sip of fire whisky. A single tear fell upon her face, and she figured she had just wept away all the tears remaining in her body. Maybe Harry would find her here, but mostly she hoped he would not. She did not deserve him. She never had and she never would. He would realize it someday, and Ginny wanted it to be over before that day came. 

The letters were in her purse, as she dared not to read them again. She felt them against her side. The sharp edges of the envelopes, but she ignored them. She should not have brought the letters. She should have burned them a long time ago.

"Another drink ma'am?"

"Uh... sure." She replied as she finished her half empty cup. A majestic brown owl flew through the window.

"That's a beautiful owl. Who's is it?" The barman asked her.

"My...a friend." She untied the envelope and opened it.

_Ginny, _

_Dudley told me what they said to you. Please don't take them seriously. You have no idea how worried I am. Let me find you Gin. Please tell me where you are. _

_Love, _

_Harry_

Ginny did not want him to worry about her.

_I'm fine Harry. However, I do not want to be found._

_Ginny_

She tied the letter on the owl and let him fly out of the window.

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Harry ran to every shop in Diagon Alley, but he failed to find her anywhere. He tried King's Cross Station, the lake by the Burrow and got an idea to owl her (I don't know about canon but in my story owls can find people...), but only got a negative response. 

"Thanks Betty." He said to his owl as he fed her and let her fly back to Grimmauld Place. There was never the love between him and Betty as there was between Hedwig and himself.

He reread the response many times. It was not possible that the Dursleys caused all of this. They were not worth that much. It had to be the letters, the letters from an unknown sender. Was she having an affair? The fear left him as soon as it came. Ginny would never do anything like that to him. She was extremely against it and Ginny was proven to never be hypocritical.

He went to Hogsmead, and checked the Three Broomsticks. He did not find her, but did however find Cho.

"Hello Harry. I haven't seen you in a while. How have you been?" She said kindly.

"I've been great. How about you?"

"I've been busy." She looked down momentarily and popped her head back up again as if remembering something. "Listen I wanted to talk to you about something." She asked as she brushed her black hair out of her eyes.

"I'm listening."

"Well, I don't know if you know this, but I've been doing training."

"Training for what?"

"I want to become an Auror, and I talked to Quint and he told me to speak to you."

"About..."

"Well, when I finish my training, which is in a month, I was wondering if I could have an apprenticeship or a job at the Ministry." She said unsure. The last thing he wanted to talk about right now was business. He had to find Ginny, but he hated blowing people off.

"Next month...hm. Well, you would begin at fifth class. Ron would do the necessary build-up training and you could work with Robinson, and he is in the States at the moment. But other than that, I don't see why not. You would make a great Auror." He quickly gave her his card and walked out of the pub.

His last choice was the Hog's Head. He opened the door with a creek and saw three figures inside the pub. The first was a drunken man at the farthest stool, the second the barmaid, and the third he recognized with a jolt, as Ginny. He walked up to her slowly.

"Ginny?" He asked softly. She turned to him, revealing a worn out and teary face.

"You found me." She said, almost sadly.

"Ginny. What's going on?" He put a hand on her shoulder. She pulled away and took her bag from her other shoulder. Ginny turned it upside down revealing a pile of letters, some old and some new.

"They date back years. I think you should read them." Harry was unsure but obeyed. He took the one on top and slowly opened it.

_Dear Ginny, _

**A/N: God, I love cliffhangers.**


	5. Found II

**A/N: Here's another. I know the second part of this is really boring but bare with me, it's a filler. Please review and Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

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He put the letter down gently. 

"Is this the only one?" He asked her, knowing what the answer already was. She shook her head.

"Them." She pointed at the letters. "They're all the same."

"Ginny you could have told me."

"I know."

"Does it get worse?"

"You have no idea."

Harry went through the entire pile, reading harsh hate mail dating back years. Some were disgustingly cruel, some were short and bitter and some were even death threats.

"But Ginny, why are you so upset over _this_? I mean they're cruel, but I never thought you would go to this extent over them."

"It's not just those." She handed him five new letters from the bottom of her purse. "These too." He looked at a pink envelope that said:

_To Harry, _

_From Romilda_

Harry did not choose that moment to confront her about taking his mail, but couldn't help but laugh. "I never thought the day would come when you would take _her_ seriously."

"Harry, it's not funny. We get married in a year. That is a long time. I'm scared that this" She pointed at the pile. "will get to your head. That you will realize you could do better. I just wanted to escape from you before that day came, so that it would hurt less."

"Ginny." He put his arm around her. "You know I would marry you here and now. You planned the wedding date remeber? You said you wanted to be comfortable in your new home and job before you thoght about marriage."

"I do but..."

"But what?" He said quite harshly. "You're going to let something like this get in your way? You're going to run away from your life because some lonely, bitter people have nothing better to do?"

"Harry, don't you understand? I don't care about the letters, I care about what you are willing to believe."

"And you think I would believe a word of these?" He took his arm off of her shoulder. "If you do Ginny, I don't think you know me too well."

"Sorry." She mumbled. He smiled at her and put his hand in his pocket to retrieve the ring. He gently slipped it on her finger. "Thanks." She gave a watery chuckle "I guess it's okay for you to settle for a Weasley."

"Settle? More like a first choice. So much so that if I didn't have you, I would probably go for one of your brothers. Charlie possibly, or George. I haven't chosen yet" Ginny laughed and punched him playfully in the arm. "On second thought, you're Mum's not too bad either." He said laughing. She stopped smiling suddenly. "Did I cross the line?" He asked.

Ginny smiled again. "I can't even see the line anymore."

They sat in the bar for quite some time before a brown owl flew through the window.

"Oh, it's Betty. Looks like I have mail." The owl dropped the letter and waited on Harry's shoulder, possibly for a treat for her long voyage. When he showed no sign of paying attention to her, she flew out of the window.

"You don't even treat her as a pet, you know that? It's quite harsh." Ginny said somberly.

"She's an owl, Gin. She brings me mail. Being my pet isn't in her job description." He said casually, and Ginny let it go. "Oh it's from Ron."

_Harry, _

_What. The. Hell. Cho just owled me saying all this crap about how she is excited to work with us.  
I don't know what you're planning to do for the Auror department, but I don't think a weepy just-out-of-training girl is right for us right now. _

_And another thing. What's this about me training her? I'm putting my foot down. Just send her to an orientation like all the other new ones.__ We will continue this conversation later._

_Ron_

Harry laughed. "He really over reacts doesn't he?" He said to Ginny who was reading over his shoulder.

"Yeah, but maybe he's right. She's not really Auror material is she?"

Harry laughed. "It's cute when you're jealous."

"I'm not." She said quite offended.

"Mmhm." He said sarcastically. "Plus, there's nothing to worry about...on weekdays." He mumbled the last part. Ginny laughed.

"Doesn't look like Ron's too pleased about it."

"Yeah. 'We will continue this conversation later.'" Harry siged. "Sometimes I feel like I have two girlfriends. You and Ron."

"Let's go." Ginny grabbed his arm and they disapperated together to Grimmauld Place.

* * *

Everything that had happened with Ginny had blown over by the end of the week, and they decided not to talk about it any longer. 

Harry sat at his desk, signing and filling out papers for the Department. He had gotten to his third pile when a knock came at his door.

"Come in." He said without looking up. When he finally did, he saw Jillian, his short blonde secretary.

"Hi Mr.Potter." She had an annoying habit of calling him 'Mr.Potter' when he continusly insisted that she could call him Harry. "You have a visitor."

"Alright, I could use a break." This was exciting news after hours of paperwork, and he expected it to be Ginny. Instead, a tall black haired woman walked inside. She stood unsurely at the door.

"Oh hello Cho." He said not quite enthusiastically. "Sit down." He gestured to the chair. When she did, he offered her a drink.

"No thank you. I'm fine. I just wanted to talk to you about my training."

"Yes?"

"Well it took less time than I expected and well, I've just finished."

"That's great."

"Yes, and I wanted to ask you if the job opening is still avalible." She batted her eyelashes discretely but he still noticed. This would not get her anywhere with him.

"Well, I've talked to Ron and he thinks you should go through my group orientation session before we can hire you."

"Oh. Well okay." She sounded displeased. "I just thought that since-"

"Personal friendships don't guarantee a position as an Auror."

"Someone forgot to tell Ron" She blurted out before she could stop herself.

Harry stood up abruptly. "I'll see you at orientation Saturday at noon. If you wouldn't mind Ms.Chang, I have some work to do." She looked like she regretted what she had just said, but she walked out of the door with a friendly wave.

Harry sat back down and was almost finished the third pile when Ron walked in.

"It's called knocking Ron. For all you know you could have walked in on me and your sister." Ron made a gaging noise.

"Thanks for the image. Anyways, how are you holding up?"

"Okay. Say, Ron, would you do me a favor?"

"Depends." He said in a sing-song voice.

"Could you do this paperwork for me?" He said as he tried his best attempt at puppydog eyes. "Please."

"First of all, that face is creepy. And second, I can't, I'm training Rob. But have fun without me." Ron walked out of the office, as Harry finished the third pile and began the forth with a loud sigh.

**A/N: Next chapter: Orientation.**


	6. Auror's Dome

**A/N: Before anyone calls me out on this, I took the idea (somewhat) from House, on FOX.**

**And please read my other fics, I think you would like them. **

**Enjoy.

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**"Welcome one and all to what will be the longest job interviews you have experienced. At the end of the week, only three of you will remain, and receive a job here" Harry said in a enthusiastic voice, amplified by a charm. "I believe I have introduced myself to all of you previously. If I had not, my name is Harry Potter, Head of Auror Department. This is my friend and partner, Ron Weasley." He gestured towards Ron, who waved at the forty-or-so people in the room. "Let me explain to you how my imaginative-if I do say so myself-idea will go. You all will have points, shown on this wall." He pointed at the left wall where many tubes of brightly coloured balls sat. A name was engraved on the bottom of each tube. "This will work almost like Hogwarts. I will give and take away points. Those who find themselves with no points left, will be asked to leave. Clear?" The crowd gave a unanimous nod. "Good."

"Now for the reason behind this. At this stage of 'training' I could care less about your magical or physical skill. The both of those can be taught, and was during your training, so I know all of you possess those skills. The mental preparedness cannot be learned, it must be gained on ones own accord. I will be testing your mental ability to become an Auror in the week to come. I will ask questions mostly, but other ways of testing will ensue. You all begin with ten points"

"First things first, Aurors do not have the longest life expectancy, and I will not lie to you. Aurors have died, are dying and will die as long as this profession remains. Anyone who cannot handle that inconvenient truth, please save us time and leave now." No one did. "Alright let's begin. Anyone here a former member of the DA or the Order?"

Cho's hand shot up, as did Seamus' and Susan's. He smiled at the three of them.

"You all earn a point, because your bravery is guaranteed." The three grinned enthusiastically. Others looked bitter. Ron gave Harry an unapproving look at giving Cho a point. Harry ignored him. "First actual scenario:

A man who happens to be a close friend of yours has been convicted of a brutal murder which he claimed he did not commit. He is sentenced to the Dementor's Kiss. No one but you and your partner believe him and he is to receive the Kiss that morning. What do you do, if you don't have a Hippogriff?" No one got the last part but Ron, who chuckled to himself. A girl by the name of Lacey put up her hand.

"You let him receive his punishment because you don't have enough evidence to prove him innocent." She said proudly, possibly anticipating ten points.

"Two points taken away." Two balls flew from the tube that was hers and she looked like she was going to cry. "This may seem biased, but my personal values will have a lot of weight on who is going to be chosen. And you always have faith in your friends. Anyone else care to try?" No one raised a hand. "Thought I would start you off with a trick question. No one will receive the Dementor's Kiss under my watch." Some laughed, some looked angry. "Again, personal values." He said shrugging.

He continued to ask easy, challenging and odd questions for the next six days. On the final day, only three remained; Emily Rawson, Cho Chang and Wilfrid Johnson.

"Ready for a tour of the Department?" He asked them.

"But Mr.Potter, we got a tour the day before the orientation." Emily said. She was a petite girl with curly brown hair and a slightly high voice. He had mostly chosen her because her comments reminded him so much of Hermione's.

"So I've heard" He said smiling. The three looked utterly confused. To amuse himself, he decided to add to their confusion. "We are taking a Portkey to the little book shop near the outskirts of London. Do you all know where that is?"

"Yes, I do. There's a field near that shop and I play Quidditch there sometimes." Wilfrid said. He was a tall young man with silvery blue eyes and dark blond hair that stuck up much like Harry's.

"I've played there as well. Good job, Wilfrid."

"Please, call me Will."

"Alright Will. Do you two know where that is?" He asked Cho and Emily.

"No." They said in unison.

"Well, you'll see it soon. Oh and that would be the Portkey." Harry said pointing at a hairbrush lying on his desk. "You don't want to miss it." The four placed their hands on the brush and the Portkey took them to a grubby street, where not another soul was in sight.

"Where are we?" Emily asked.

Harry ignored her question. He pointed at a small, shabby little building with a peeling sign and smashed windows. He gestured for them to follow him inside the shop. Contrary to what the building's purpose was supposed to be, there were very few books on the shelves. Harry looked at the middle aged man sleeping behind a desk near the door.

"Runforn!" He said loudly, as to wake the man up. As he expected, the man got up with a jolt and straightened up.

"S-Sorry Mr.Potter. Just examining the desk for...dust." He said.

"Just stay awake next time. You have an important job to do."

The man nodded. Harry, leading the new Aurors, took a right turn and stopped in front of a dirty men's bathroom door.

"Oh, forgot something." Harry said. He pointed at each of their chests as a gold nametag appeared, each saying their names and _Level Five Auror_. Then he opened the bathroom door, but not before seeing the faces on Emily, Cho and Will's faces first.

To their surprise, there was not a dirty bathroom behind that door, but a magnificent foyer with marble floors and a high cealing. There was a foutain of about twelve witches and wizards, underneath it said:

_The bravest and most loyal Aurors these old walls had ever known. Many are no longer with us in physical form, yet their contributions remain intact in the world they helped to save._

The fountain contained statues of Harry, Mad-Eye, Tonks, James Potter (Harry was surprised to see his father amongst them), Frank and Alice Longbottem and others he did not know in person. Behind the fountain was a grand staircase that led to the next floor which seemed to be nothing but doors.

"Did you really think all that we did was contained in that one floor of the Ministry?" Harry said. "Welcome to what we call the Auror's Dome."

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**A/N: So I thought that Aurors had all these secret missions and plans and such and it seemed to me like there should have been a seperate building for them. Kind of like the CIA (lol). **

**Anyways, please review.**


	7. Memories of After

**A/N: The italics are right after DH. Kind of a trip down memory lane. Please Review.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

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Harry walked out of the Great Hall, almost limping. His hair was greasy and his clothes torn and dirty. Ginny followed closely after him. When he did not turn around, she grabbed his arm and turned him around herself._

_"Why would you do that to me Harry?" She said, fresh tears welling up again. Harry's face fell._

_"I'm sorry. I had to."_

_"I'm tired of dealing with things you _have _to do."_

_"Then don't." He turned and began walking again. For the second time, Ginny grabbed his shoulder and turned him around. "Ginny. Just wait here, I have to go take a shower." His words were empty of all emotion and his face, just the same. _

_"Harry! Don't you understand? I can't wait for you anymore. Not for even a minute. I waited six years for you to even notice me. When you finally did, you left again for a year. Harry do you know what that was like?" Tears rolled down her cheeks now, following the tracks of the tears already shed by the death of her brother. "Not knowing if you were dead or alive. Not knowing if you were thinking of me, or even if you cared for me anymore. Harry, I know what you went through was hard, but being without you...it was hell."_

_"I know, but-"_

_Ginny cut him off. "Then when I saw you coming out of the portrait, I was so happy you were alive and well. And I thought you would stay with us and never go off like that again." She let out a reluctant laugh. "You proved me wrong Harry, like you always have done. You were more of a git than I thought you could ever be. You wouldn't even say hello and you didn't even say goodbye when you walked into your own death."_

_"I'm sorry." He said pathetically._

_"Sorry isn't going to cut it for the pain I felt in that 15 minutes I thought you were gone. All I could think of was what I was going to do without you, and I thought of nothing."_

_"I'm sorry." He repeated._

_"I'm tired of waiting for you. I'm done not knowing if you even give a crap about me anymore. I'm done Harry." _

_Harry said nothing but turned and walked away, and this time, she did not grab his shoulder. She didn't walk after him, but she did walk the other direction; back into the Great Hall. The first thing she saw was her brother Ron sitting next to Hermione at the Gryffindor table. She walked over to them and sat opposite the two._

_"How are you two doing?" She asked them._

_Ron shrugged, but Hermione spoke. "Alright I guess. It's sort of bitter sweet isn't it?" Ron nodded, as did Ginny. _

_"I just had a fight with Harry. Well it wasn't really a fight. Just me yelling at him."_

_Hermione looked angry all of a sudden. "How could you Ginny? Do you even realize what he's been through for the past year. Even these couple of hours. You shouldn't have put more on his plate." _

_"I know. But I was just so angry about him leaving. And that thing he pulled off earlier."_

_"You know he had to." Ron said. "He wouldn't have done it for kicks."_

_Ginny nodded. "It doesn't matter anyways. He's over me."_

_Ron laughed in spite of himself. "Harry? No he isn't, trust me. He didn't think I was watching, but he used to pull out the Marauders map and just stare at your dot to make sure you were in your bed every night, safe."_

_"Really?" She thought it was foolish at the time, but she always felt random waves of security when she was sleeping. Maybe a part of her knew he was alive, thinking about her._

_Hermione nodded. "He did it for you Ginny. You were his reason for staying alive when he wanted nothing more than to give himself up to Death."_

_Ginny said nothing but walked out of the Hall and to the Gryffindor Common room. She entered the empty room and headed up the spiral staircase to Harry's dormitory. She found him sound asleep in his fourposter. She smiled. He looked peaceful (and clean). Like a baby who had not just spent the last two hours fighting the Darkest wizard of all time. She kneeled by the edge of his bed and stroked his hair._

_"I'm sorry." She whispered. "I'm sorry for all that. I was just angry about what happened to..." She couldn't say Fred's name. "And what you had to go through. The last thing you needed was me getting mad at you for something you didn't do. Anyways, I'm proud of you Harry. You saved us all." She laid her head on the edge of his bed and in doing so, realized a cup sitting next to his bedside. She recognized it as the potion for dreamless sleep that her mother or Madam Pomfrey had left there, and that it was full. She had to give it to him. Who knows what kind of dreams were going on in his head right now. She shook him._

_"Harry, get up."_

_"I am up." And he opened his eyes suddenly, showing he was never asleep in the first place._

_"D-Did you hear all that?" He nodded. She changed the subject. "You need to drink this before you actually sleep. You probably can't even sleep with all the things going on in your head."_

_"Come here." He said simply. He spread his arms, in order to welcome her to lay in them. She obeyed and felt the warmth of the blanket and him take over her trembling body. She felt at ease for a moment, then realized he was beginning to fall asleep._

_"Harry, you have to drink this. Dreamless sleep remember?"_

_"Shh." He closed his eyes again. "You're my dreamless sleep." He kissed her on the forehead and they both dozed off only to be awakened hours later by the scream of Mrs.Weasley as she realized where her youngest daughter was sleeping.

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_Ginny snapped back to reality as Teddy's screams took over the built-up silence in the sitting room. She picked up the child and bounced him on her knee. He stopped screaming, and Ginny gave him his stuffed wolf plush and he fell back asleep while chewing on it.

**A/N: I know this was a random chapter but it had to be done. Review please.**


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